


Teach Me To Love Just To Let Me Go

by AKUMA_jpg



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Joy is a designer for a big brand, Wendy is a baker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:40:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26858356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKUMA_jpg/pseuds/AKUMA_jpg
Summary: They say you should go through the four seasons with your partner before marrying them. Some people say you should be with someone for at least nine months before tying the knot but the quantity of time spent together wasn’t important since it obviously did not apply to Sooyoung.Beauty was common in the industry Sooyoung worked in, nothing new. But there was something different about Seungwan that she hadn’t seen before. How could someone be so effortlessly enthralling? That woman’s smile could easily outshine any of the models working with her, all combined even. More often than not, she found herself thinking about her.A story in which the two learn that even the world's greatest love, must always come to an end.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi, Park Sooyoung | Joy/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Teach Me To Love Just To Let Me Go

They say you should go through the four seasons with your partner before marrying them. Some people say you should be with someone for at least nine months before tying the knot but the quantity of time spent together wasn’t important.

Some liked the spring, bright and sunny but still a bit cold from late January. The flowers freshly blooming and the beginning of most relationships. Sooyoung was never too fond of the spring, all the pollen flying everywhere made her throat itch, and her nose stuffy. The sight of new couple’s hand-holding made her equally as sick. 

Some liked summer, a chance to go on extravagant trips with significant others, and enjoy the warm Korean sun. Midnight rendezvous of people being daring with each other and taking it to the next step. Sooyoung hated the heat, feeling sticky with sweat and drained from being burned by the blinding star in the sky. 

Some liked fall, lazying around in each other’s presence, wearing warm clothes, and sipping on hot drinks. Sooyoung was always filled with autumn dread, having to fill work deadlines before the wrap up of the year. The sweet smell of pumpkin spice made her sick, remembering the designs she had to pitch to the board of directors that she had spent hours slaving over. 

Some liked the winter, where it was cold and snowy. Bundled up in fluffy blankets and traveling home for the holidays. And you guessed it, Sooyoung hated December too. The pressure of being home and having to deal with her prying relatives asking her when she was bringing someone home was enough for her to want to run all the way back to Seoul. 

But now she was alone, laying in bed scrolling through photos of her friends being the perfect couple online. Normally she would be repulsed but she remembers the utter wreck Seulgi was in college. The dumb bear torturing herself over the pretty senior in her design class. Eventually, she pestered Sooyoung enough to get her the unnie’s phone number and the rest was history, the two were now happily engaged. 

The unnie in question, Bae Joohyun, was actually her closest friend. They were both aspiring to work in the fashion industry. They ended up working for big brands, Joohyun with Prada as one of the lead designers and Sooyoung under Gucci as one of their main art directors. And although they mostly worked behind the scenes, you better believe either of them could effortlessly outshine the models wearing their work. It also helped that she made a hefty income. Enough for Sooyoung to live in an expensive high rise in the young city of Seoul and buy her parents a big house in Jeju. She had enough money and charm to bring half of Korea to their knees but here she was on a Friday night, laying in bed. 

“Unnie, come drinking with me!” Her secretary, Kim Yerim, insisted over the phone. 

“With you? I don’t really feel like third-wheeling it with you and Doyeon.” Even her secretary had someone. 

“You need to meet someone new, come on. What’s it been? 2 years now?” Her friend was referring to her rather a painful past breakup. “You need to get over her.”

She didn’t want to. Chaeyoung was the love of her life, the only escape from the cut-throat industry she resided in. But of course, all good things must come to an end. Sooyoung blames herself, she got caught up in her work, she didn’t see that Chaeyoung needed more attention and care than was on the surface. This only resulted in her leaving, leaving her for someone else. She still cried over it, on nights filled with Soju and regrets she still missed her. 

They met at a fashion event, Chaeyoung was representing as a Saint Laurent model and Sooyoung was, at the time, working under Celine. Sooyoung, being the cocky young creative she was, made the first move. 

_ “You looked amazing up there, Ros _ _ é _ _ ” _ She smirked, not knowing the relationship they were going to end up building. 

Chaeyoung was sweet and soft, kind to her no matter how tightly her work wound her. She continued to work with Saint Laurent where Sooyoung moved under a new brand, using a new name for the purpose of “rebranding herself”. The name Joy. Chaeyoung always knew what to say, despite Sooyoung being a big idiot, she was quite the smooth talker. 

Three years. They were together for three years. Sooyoung still has nightmares of what went down that night. She had just returned from a long business trip from Italy and was planning on making it up to her girlfriend by proposing. The model let her take her out for dinner, they ate at the fancy restaurant Seulgi owned, sipping on fine wine upon her return. 

“It’s nice to be home.” Sooyoung smiled, not sensing the other’s uncomfortable state. 

They ate the entire meal, she let her hold onto the idea of marrying her before shattering her entire existence. How cruel yet fitting. Like some twisted payback for how Sooyoung treated her. She treated her like a toy, coming to her for her own enjoyment and not thinking about how Chaeyoung was feeling, she used her. 

“Sooyoung I think we should end this. I’m not happy.”

“What?” She was holding out the opened ring box and everything, her chest began to uncontrollably burn. 

“You seem more in love with your work than me.” Everything she was saying was in that same angel voice that no one could ever be mad at, it almost made it hurt more. “I think we should end things here.” 

She left, she left her and moved out of the apartment they shared. Scrubbed their home clean of any traces of her and left. 

Sooyoung blamed herself, mostly because it was her fault. This only caused her to get more absorbed in her work, staying well past the building lights shut off. She would distract herself by working, other times when she was alone the voices in her head would grow too loud and she’d be forced to stay up. 

Chaeyoung loved the seasons, she used to drag Sooyoung out to the park where they’d sit and enjoy the cheery view of nature surrounded by a big city. And in the winter how Chaeyoung’s hands were always so warm wrapped around hers. In the summer how they would visit Jeju together, her parents happy to see their daughter together with someone so amazing. Joking about how when they married they didn’t have to change their names since they already had the same family name. 

And only 3 months after their break up did she see the dispatch article with the headline  _ “Model Ros _ _ é _ _ Park and dancer Lisa Manoban are officially dating.” _

That’s when she just said,  _ “Fuck it, I’m gonna be alone forever, huh?”. _ And still, she laid alone in her bed, ignoring Yerim’s calls and attempts to get her out of her big empty penthouse. 

“Aish, Yerim leave me alone. I’m gonna see you tomorrow anyway.” They were having a friendly brunch with soon to be wed couple.

“But that’s different and you know it. Fine, Park Sooyoung, I’ll let you off this time.” Before the younger could fit in another threat, she hung up. 

Going out with her friends was fun but the conversation always seemed to circle back to her love life. People in relationships were the worst, not only were they loved and happy but they wanted everyone else to be too. So much that they couldn’t get through one conversation without them trying to set her up with someone. Closing her eyes, she just wanted tomorrow to come sooner so she could get it over with. 

___

They were sitting at a nice big table out on the open terrace of some high-end brunch place Seulgi got their names on somehow. Being one of the biggest chefs in Korea had its perks, one of them being well connected with other restaurant owners all over the city. It was nice, sunny enough before the fall was going to kick in. 

“Kang Seulgi, what would your poor modest mother in Ansan think of you sipping mimosas like they’re water? Calm down Jesus, it’s only 11.” Sooyoung teased.

“Hey, I just opened another location, I deserve it.” She pouted. “Plus, we shouldn’t be focusing on me, we should be focusing on the fact that you turned down yet another suitor earlier.”

“Suitor? What is this? The oriental age?” She feigned defense. Some pretty girl ahead of them on the waiting list asked her for her number.

“What was wrong? I thought she was pretty cute,” Joohyun joined in, picking at her caviar. 

“Can we please not make this about me for once?”

“Aww Sooyoungie, we just want you to stop moping around.” Yerim teased. 

“I’m not mopy.” She shot back. 

“We just think it’s time for you to meet someone new.” Seulgi softened up.

“And I’ve met people. Seriously, I’m completely satisfied with how things are right now.”

“One night stands don’t count,” Joohyun pointed her fork at her. “Besides,  _ finding  _ someone isn’t the problem here. Have you seen yourself? The problem is that you’re too stubborn to date.” 

“Yeah, I don’t want to date. You caught me.” She rolled her eyes and raised her hands up. “I really could not give more of a shit if I went out with someone. Can we leave it there? God, you guys sound like my aunts.”

And for the rest of their outing, it wasn’t brought up. She knows her friends just want to see her happy, they saw how utterly destroyed she was after her break up. Sooyoung was just lying to herself and them, she did want to find someone. She was just scared, scared of getting her heartbroken again. 

“I already took care of the bill,” Seulgi smirked, looking at Yerim and Sooyoung reaching for their wallets. “You guys can treat me to dessert, there’s a new bakery down the street.”

“You’re still hungry? You ate half the menu!” Yerim whined. 

“Oh, I’m full but I have a second stomach for dessert.” She slung an arm around her fiance as they made their way out of the bustling restaurant. 

“How did you find out about this place anyways?” They were walking into a small warm cafe that was decorated with flowers and everything nice. 

The bakery had tall ceilings, opened windows that let the orange sun peek in, the light spilling across the soft brown wooden tables. The whole establishment smelled sweet and the little bell announcing their arrival was a nice touch to the whole light ambiance that was hosted in the small space. 

“From a friend of a friend.” Seulgi was already standing in line to order. 

And then, oh my god, she saw it. She saw the prettiest person on the goddamn planet. The woman at the counter had short brown hair that seemed to have small blonde streaks peeking through, her smile burned brighter than a thousand suns, and god, her eyes. 

“Sooyoung-ah, come meet my friend!” Seulgi shoots her a smile and she knows exactly where this is going.

_ I fell for it again! _ This another one of her friend’s attempts to play the matchmaker and set her up. Only if her friend wasn’t so damn pretty she’d be mad. 

“This is Wendy, we met through culinary connections.” Seulgi cut straight to it. It was no surprise the social bear had a lot of friends, she was a naturally bright person that happened to attract people. 

“H-hi,” God she was already blushing.  _ Park Sooyoung keep it together! _

“Nice to meet you, you can just call me Seungwan.” The short blonde smiled from behind the counter, completely disarming her. 

“I’m S-Sooyoung,” She was such an idiot, but an idiot in front of a very pretty lady. 

“I was just telling Sooyoungie about how amazing you are at baking.” Seulgi greased it up, pushing the tall girl in front of her, taking the freshly baked treats with her along with Yerim and Joohyun so the two could have some alone time. 

“I’m sorry about her, she’s… trying to meddle in my life again.” Sooyoung sighed in defeat. 

“Aha, no worries. If it’s any consultation, she’s been trying to set me up with people since I told her I was single.” Seungwan related, with her warm inviting smile. 

“Ahh, so you bake?” That was the stupidest thing she could ask, they were literally in her bakery.

“Yeah, I really like it even though sometimes I can’t eat them.” 

She was curious as to what the young baker meant by that but she was too nervous to ask. Only just realizing she was holding up the line behind her, “Umm can I get the…” 

“I recommend the brownies.” Seungwan was aware of her apparent dilemma, helping her out a bit. 

“Yes, right. I’ll have one brownie.” She affirmed her order, straightening out the sides of her expensive Burberry blazer. “Uh, how much do I owe you?” She dug into her pockets, looking for her wallet.

“It’s on the house,” She smiled, handing her a small brown paper bag. “A friend of Seulgi’s is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you,”

“No problem, come back anytime, Sooyoung.” And with that, Sooyoung was left to walk back to their table, blushing and angry all at once. 

“Have fun?” Seulgi shot her a sly grin. 

“Yah!” She slapped her arm. “What’s the matter with you?”

“What? I just want my two very  _ beautiful _ friends to be happy.” She defended. 

“Don’t give me that shit,” She angrily munched on her baked snack, the plush chocolate melting her mouth gently. “Oh wow,”

“Good right?” Yerim asked, Seulgi bought her a lemon square, one that she had already finished.

___

Trying to ignore the messages in her inbox for the whole week, Sooyoung’s been overloaded with work for the upcoming spring shows. The only thing that distracted her from her unfinished designs for her new collection was that baker. 

_ Seungwan _ .

Beauty was common in the industry she worked in, nothing new. But there was something different about Seungwan that she hadn’t seen before. How could someone be so effortlessly enthralling? That woman’s smile could easily outshine any of the models working with her, all combined even. More often than not, she found herself thinking about her. 

What kind of people did Seungwan like? What were her favorite flowers? Did she like her coffee black or with cream? There was so much she wanted to know after only having seen her once. Seungwan looked like the kind of person that would accept her for everything she was, not just the good parts, but everything. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, she had only talked to her once and that conversation didn’t leave her with a lot of information. 

And before she knew it, she was already googling the cafe.  _ Oh, it’s really close. Walking distance even. _ Not even the greatest forces of evil could stop her from leaving the Gucci building to head to that small bakery, she just left. Got up from her work, grabbed her coat, and walked out. 

Reading the cute artistic sign above the door,  _ “Morning Glory”. _ What an odd name for a bakery. 

“Welcome-” Seungwan was wearing her usual apron, smile plastered on her features. The bakery was seemingly full, the buzz of conversation and the strong smell of coffee while people enjoyed their food was present. “Oh, Sooyoung-ssi!”

_ She remembered my name. _ She wasn’t used to that. People calling her by her real name, every day the people in her office called her Joy or Ms.Park. It was refreshing to hear it in Seungwan’s smooth voice. 

“H-hi,” She looked so out of place. Bangs strewn across her forehead messily from how she nearly jogged here, the only thing on her was her wallet and coat, having forgotten her phone back on her desk. 

“Here on a lunch break?” 

_ Huh? _ What time was it? She had severe tunnel vision whenever she was designing for her season and didn’t even stop to look at the time, which was 12:54. 

“Yeah,” 

“Well, I’ve got my 15-minute break as well. Mind if I join you?” She was so casual. 

_ Yes, god yes. _ “Sure,” She should at least try to salvage the very little dignity she had left. 

They sat down at a small two-seater table near the windows. The afternoon spring light favoring Seungwan as she literally glowed in the seat across from her. 

“Do you work nearby?”

“Yeah, just in the building down the street.” She let out a heaved sigh, she really needed to calm down. 

“Oh, what do you do?”

“I’m an art director at Gucci.” She drowned her embarrassment in her coffee. 

“Wow, that’s really cool.” She laughed. “Is that how you met Joohyun-unnie?”

“Yeah, we used to both work for the same company. We all went to college together.”

“Small world, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She let out a light chuckle, man sometimes she just needed to breathe. 

The small timer going off in Seungwan’s pocket marked the end of her 15-minute break, “Looks like my time’s up. It was nice talking to you Sooyoung-ssi.”

“Ahh, wait-” She fumbled. “C-can I get your number? I mean we are friends now,” She internally face-palmed.  _ Park Sooyoung, you colossal idiot. _

“Sure,” Seungwan never once showed her feelings of distaste, only kindness. 

Reaching inside her coat, she remembered, “Oh shit, I left my phone back in the office.”

“It’s fine, you can just put your number in mine.”

“I’m really sorry,” She apologized as she typed in her contact, misspelling her name without knowing. 

“It’s really no trouble,” Seungwan found Sooyoung’s apparent frazzled appearance cute. “See you around, Sooyoung.” 

_ What was that? Sooyoung keep it together! _ In college, she was quite the player, all her previous skill dissolved whenever she saw Seungwan smile. And there was no denying the rapid pound in her chest, she was out of practice. 

Sprinting back to the office in an attempt to rid herself of the previous embarrassment and adrenaline, she cracked down and got back to work. 

___

She visited Seungwan every day. Every lunch break she got she walked to her bakery. Maybe she was hoping to see Seungwan but she just chalked it up under the lame excuse that she liked the coffee. Sometimes Seungwan would be there, sometimes she wouldn’t, but little by little she started noticing things about the baker that she didn’t see before. 

Instead of spending weekends in her empty apartment, she took her laptop to the bakery and worked on the outside tables. It was a nice change and sometimes if she was lucky, Seungwan would join her on her frequent brakes. Normally covered in flour but nice company. 

“Your designs are really nice. I guess there’s a reason all this stuff costs a lot.” Seungwan was looking at her unreleased line for this spring.

“Thanks, it’s taken me some time to get to where I’m at right now.” Yeah, a useless business degree and a minor in art got her there. 

Around the restaurant, Seungwan never raised her voice, she was always kind to customers and even laughed at their bad jokes wholeheartedly. She never ate the goods she baked, which was kind of weird but made sense of how fit she looked. She only played ballads in her shop, soft melodies that went with all the pretty flowers inside and the couples that dined there. Seungwan only worked on Tuesdays and Thursdays, other times she would be seen revising the menu or off somewhere Sooyoung didn’t know. But every time she saw Sooyoung, she would tuck a small blue flower into the cup holder of her paper coffee cup. 

The more she came, the more they talked. Although they had each other’s numbers but rarely texted, only engaging in deep conversations whenever Sooyoung was around. 

“Why do you keep so many flowers around?”

“They remind me of life, they are kind of expensive to maintain but I like the vibe they bring,” Seungwan admitted. 

Twirling the small blue flower in between her thumb and forefinger, “How long have you been baking?”

“Ever since I was young, whenever my mom came home from work we would bake treats for her students. She was a kindergarten teacher.” 

She learned a lot, soon Seungwan was embedded in everything, every corner of her mind. Pieces of Seungwan started swimming in her head. Seungwan’s favorite color was blue, she loved squirrels, she liked oranges the best, and liked to sing sometimes. 

Every time she saw flowers she thought,  _ I wonder if Seungwan would like these? _ She really didn’t know squat about flowers but Seungwan could name her top 10 in order from favorite to least favorite in less than seconds. 

“My favorites are Morning Glories,”

“What do they look like?”

“They’re the small blue flower I keep putting in your coffee,” she laughed.

“Oh, I would’ve thought your favorites are roses or orchids since they’re always in the shop.”

“Orchids are my mom’s favorite and roses are my dads.” She was playing with the fallen rose petals she found on the table they were sharing. “I like Morning Glories because of the color.”

“I’ve never heard of Morning Glories. Well, not until I saw the name of your shop but I didn’t know it was a flower.”

“They bloom and die in a single day, which I find fascinating.”

“How ironically poetic,”

“Very,” She pulled the small flower from Sooyoung’s cup. “They’re delicate and beautiful, my mom says they signify mortality.”

“Hmm, Morning Glories.” She contemplated.

___

Never in her life did she imagine being so interested in a person other than herself. The reason for her getting out of bed every day was based solely on the idea that she’d see Seungwan but God had different plans today.

Spring rain. 

Standing outside the closed shop she looked and felt like an idiot. Now, the word idiot gets thrown around a lot in her and only because she was one. Park Sooyoung was smart in many ways, she was creative, cunning, and very attractive but when it came to the matter Son Seungwan, she was, simply put, an idiot. 

Being soggy and Seungwan deprived was not how Sooyoung imagined to be spending her Saturday morning. 

“Sooyoung?” Seungwan was emerging from the back door, carrying an umbrella. 

She must’ve looked insane, shielding herself from the rain with the back of her trench coat pulled over her head. 

“I didn’t know you guys were closed.” She replied coyly. 

“Get over here.” Seungwan beckoned her over. 

Squished together under Seungwan’s hamster print umbrella, she had to hunch over due to their height difference. 

“Can I hold it? No offense but you’re kind of… short.”

“Hey, 5 ft isn’t  _ that _ short.” Seungwan withstood, handing the umbrella over to the 5’7” giant next to her. 

“Whatever you say, Ms.Son.”

“Why were you waiting out in the rain?”

“I missed your killer lattes.” She lied.  _ I missed you. _

“Sorry, we’re closed today. I decided to give my employees a much-needed break since it’s been busy since opening day.” 

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude on your day off.” The two were walking down the street aimlessly. 

“I was just doing a quick restock.” There were a couple moments of silence between them. The subtle pitter-patter of the rain deflecting off the umbrella filled as white noise. “I know another perfectly competent cafe nearby if you’re still up for coffee.” 

“Better than yours?” She jested. 

“Well, I can’t vouch for that but they’re a pretty close second!” Sooyoung couldn’t help but laugh at how cute the baker was. 

“It’s a date then.” She marched onward into the direction of warm coffee. 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/akuma__jpg). I tend to post updates there and questions sometimes.
> 
> You can use [My Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/AKUMA_jpg) if you have any questions, things about the story you want to talk about, or just wanna talk in general :)


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